Basic Blueboard Rules

There are a lot of new people on this board, and many more people who have been here for a long time that might not be fully aware of some of the basic "rules" for using this message board.

Please pay close attention, because these rules aren't many, but they are totally inflexible -- they MUST govern ALL messages posted here.

1. Play nice. :

There is no room on this board for people who aren't nice to each other. Before you post any message, stop and read through it one last time. Will it make someone feel bad? If so, DON'T POST IT. We discuss ISSUES here. We don't discuss the people behind them.

2. No political talk.

There are many places on the web where you can go to discuss politics. This board is a "political-free zone" and political messages of any kind are not allowed. The only exceptions to this rule are specific issues that have a direct bearing on the business of children's books. We can discuss those ISSUES, but NOT the politicians and/or people behind the issues.

3. No religious discussions.

It's okay to discuss issues that pertain to writing for religious markets, but it is NOT okay to talk about the theology behind religions, or to compare religious beliefs, etc. on this message board.

4. No direct links to downloads. If you want to give a download link, send people to a website page that explains what they are about to download and that has the download link on it. DO NOT LINK DIRECTLY TO DOWNLOADS from this message board. We are extremely protective of our message board members and want to protect all of you as much as possible from potential problems.

5. No defamatory posts allowed.

It's fine to post concerns about publishers and agencies as long as the posts cannot be considered defamation of character to specific agents, agencies, editors, or publishers. In other words, you CAN SAY something like:

I am upset about something that recently happened to me. I signed a book contract, but I didn't understand the fine print before I signed it! There was an option clause in it that said I have to submit my next book to them and they have until 3 months AFTER the first book is published before they have to make a decision on it -- and in the meantime, I can't submit to anyone else. But now that first book has been delayed for six years! So I won't be able to sell another book to anyone until that first book is finally published. I'm devastated. Please folks... before you sign a contract UNDERSTAND what you are signing!

It would NOT be okay for the person making this post to say derogatory things about the publisher, such as: This is a crooked publisher, a bad publisher, etc. (This also applies to editors, agents and agencies.) In other words, you can talk about your experience and how YOU feel, as long as you JUST STATE THE FACTS and don't say anything bad about them.

This is especially important in light of the results of lawsuits where other writing-related websites have been sued and LOST in cases where negative things have been said on their sites against specific agents, agencies, editors, and/or publishers. We don't want to end up with a lawsuit for something someone said on this message board against an agent or publisher!

Likewise, we don't denigrate authors or illustrators whose work we dislike or with whom we disagree here on the Blueboard. We can respectfully express our opinions of books, but please keep negative discussion of personalities off the board.

Another thing to realize is that it isn't okay to post a letter (or email) from someone else. It's fine to post a line here and there from the letter, but NOT the entire letter unless you have permission from the person who wrote the letter. (This is especially true of letters from Editors and Agents.) Please see this excellent post for more information on why we have this rule in place: http://www.rightsofwriters.com/2011/02/sixteen-things-writers-should-know.html?m=1

6. No Advertising of a Business unless you have been a member in good standing for at least two years with at least 100 posts AND have gotten permission to post your message/s with one of the Administrators of this board.

NOTE:This rule does not apply to SCBWI Regional Advisors. They have a special board in the SCBWI Only area of the board where they are allowed to freely advertise their services to other SCBWI members.

This forum doesn't exist to provide free ad space--it's here for people with a serious interest in writing and illustrating children's books and literature. Nor can the Administrators check out each business that wants to advertise here and make sure it's legitimate. Therefore, only people who have been members here (in good standing) for at least two years may advertise their services on this board, and only with the approval of Verla or an administrator; we also reserve the right to ask you to edit such posts. Please note that approval will in no way be considered an endorsement of such services. We will not endorse any services offered by any members of this forum.

Advertising goods and services in the SCBWI areas is also restricted. SCBWI members may advertise if:1. You have been either an SCBWI member or a Blueboard member for at least two years AND2. You have made at least a hundred (100) contributory posts (i.e., posts that contribute substance to conversations, not just offer congratulations or say "me too!") AND3. You have received permission from an Administrator.

Advertisements of any kind made by members who do not meet these criteria will be removed without notice. Thank you for helping keep the Blueboards a supportive, informational, spam-free place!

For members who qualify: please keep your posts advertising your services short. We prefer you post a link to your webpage rather than including all details here, and request that you PM Verla or an Administrator before posting. On a related note...

7. No solicitation of any kind.

The purpose of the Blueboards is for members to share information and support in their writing and illustrating careers, and not to request help, monetary or otherwise, from fellow members, no matter how good the cause. SCBWI does not allow Kickstarter campaigns, crowdfunding or other fund solicitation, or social media vote solicitation on the message board. Any such posts will be removed by a Moderator or Administrator without notice. On rare occasions SCBWI gives special permission for specific projects to be posted that it feels might be of benefit to Blueboarders.

8. For your own protection, only post artwork or stories on this board that you don't want to sell, or excerpts no more than about 10% of the whole work. Do not copy or reproduce anyone's artwork or stories from this board without the creator's written permission. When posting an image on the boards, whether uploading an attachment or embedding an image, please do not exceed our board size limitations of 300kb for attachments). Please limit to two images per post. NOTE:This does not apply to the SCBWI Only Manuscript and Art Exchange areas of the board as they are private areas not available to the public or search engines.

9. Do not use the board as your second blog. Post a link to your blog and a couple of lines about the subject. The intent should be to generate a discussion about your blog topic here on the boards. If you are simply alerting others to a new post, please use the "What Did You Blog About Today" thread.

Also, please feel free to post a link to your blog, twitter, website etc in your signature, but please do not post images of any kind in your signature line (that's what an avatar is for). One small exception to this rule is the use of Blueboard smiley code. Small board smileys are permitted.

10. No compensation, of any kind, can be offered in exchange for book reviews or book blurbs. You may invite members to review or blurb your book, but you can't offer anything in return (including free copies of your book). Not even something as innocuous as, "I promise I'll review your book too!". This is straight from the SCBWI legal department and any post that violates this rule will be deleted without notice.

11. Do not register more than once. When you try to register more than once, you cause a lot of unnecessary work for the administrators. Please, folks, do not register more than once! If we notice you are trying to register a second time under a different name, you will not be approved. If we find you have created a second account, you will be asked to delete one. If you want to change your screen name on the board, it can be done in your profile. Go to Profile> Account Settings and change the Name field. Ask an administrator to help you if you need to change your username.

12. No double posting. Please do not post the same topic twice anywhere on the board. We will merge or remove without notice. This applies to the SCBWI Only board as well. If you want to reach the entire board membership, SCBWI and non-SCBWI members, a post on the main board will reach everyone.

As I said at the beginning of this message, there aren't a lot of rules for posting here, but these rules MUST be followed. Posts that break any of these rules will be instantly removed from the message board without notice.

Play nice, avoid posting inappropriately and enjoy all the benefits of being on this message board, folks. It's a caring, sharing, informative place to be!